Telephone dial attachment



June 26, 1951 R. SANDOR 2,558,585

TELEPHONE DIAL ATTACHMENT Filed Nov. 14, 194 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 L 4INVENTOR I PALPH 5m/00R Y W M ATTORNEYw June 26, 1951 SANDQR 2,558,585

' TELEPHONE DIAL ATTACHMENT Filed Nov. 14, 1949 l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENT-OR F11 5 ii ATTORNEY Patented June 26, 1951 UNI TED S TATES PATENT OFFICE TELEPHONE DIAL ATTACHMENT Ralph Sandor, Passaic, N. J.

Application November 14, 1949, Serial No. 12.7;45

4 Claims.

My invention relates to an attachment for dial telephones and more particularly to an attachment'for more clearly indicating the dial stations from which movement of the dial is initiated.

Present day telephones of the dial type are equipped with a dialing device provided with a rotatable dial formed with the usual fin eropenings for operatin'g'the dial'by 'a'finger of the USi and which openings alsoserve as means for viewing the 'indicia or symbols denoting dialing stations from which movement of the dial "is initiated. Inasmuch as these'finger-openin'g's are, of a necessity, relatively small, the 'indicia displayed 'therethrough is relatively small and therefore not conducive to good vision, es ecially in those instances where the indicia comprises hur'nrals and letters of the alphabet usuauy'arranged. 'a manner eomprising grou s of three letters and a numeral in substantially 'each group for display through each opening, with the'resul t that the user frequentlyselect's an'undesi'r'ed and improper dialing Station duets the 'poorvisibility or the 'indicia.

My invention over mes the foregoing described disadva'ntag'es and undesirable features inherent in these types of dialing'devices, itbei'ng one'of the objects of my invention to provide an attachment adapted to be secured to the dialing device of a telephone in a manner to'n'i'ask "the station denoting indicia "thereof and to provide representative indici'a in lieu thereof which "is conducive to better visibility.

Another object of invention is to provide an attachment of the foregoing described character which is equipped'with a'pai'r of members which are adapted to surround the dial'and to overlie the in'di'cia plate to mask the indicia thereon, respectively, of "a dialing device and which 'members are provided with 'in d icia. 'fbresentative or saidn'r'st mentioned i'n'dicia and. of a siz'eand arran ementeon'ducive tobetter Visibilityth'an the in'di'c'ia arranged on the plate.

An im ortant objector ih'y inventions to provide an attachment of the foregoing described character which is simple in construction, durable in use, efiic'ient in operation, economical in manufacture and capable of being readily attached t0 dialing devices Without 'I'IiOdifying'the ing my invention attached to the dialing device thereof.

'2 Figure 2 is a plan view of my invention and illustrating the same as attached to the dialing device.

Figure 3 is a disassembled perspective view-of my invention.

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectionalized perspective view taken on the line 'L-"l of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a detail-sectional view taken on the 7 line 5 5 of Figure l, the dialing device being removement of the dial is normally limited by a finger-engaging stop 9 secured to the base H) of the mounting 6 and extending over the dial and into the path of the finger-openings '8 during movement of the dial for engaging the finger of the user when disposed in a selected opening. The device is also provided with a stationary indicia plate II which embraces the mounting and is dispcsed'in spaced :relation with the dial. The indicia plate H has "printed or otherwise formed thereon, suitable indicia 1-2, for instance, letters of the alphabet and numerals arranged in groups with each group denoting a dialing station from which rotary movement'of the dial is initiated, it being understood thateach group is arranged on the plate :for view through a finger-opening 8 when the dial 1 is in position for operation. As heretofore stated, as aconsequence of the limited size of the openings 8, the letters and numerals of each group are relatively small and therefore not conducive-to good vision, especially in instances where the telephone is located where visibility is poor.

My invention or attachment, when secured to a dialing device of the foregoing described char ac-ter comprises a hollow cylindrical body 15 ha-v ing its ends provided with radially disposed in ner and outer flanges or bands 1-6 and [1, respectively, withthe innerbandor'fiange 1 6 embracing the mounting 6 anc'roverlying the indicia plate [I to mask or cover the indicia l2, while'ithe outer flange or band --l is disposed about and encompasses the dial 1 in substantially flush re-.

lation therewith. The inner :and outer bands i6 and- I! are provided-with indicia 1'8 representative of the indicia l2 fo'r denoting the dialing stations-and with the'indicia'of the outerband 11 comprising letters l'9 of the alphabet and "arranged in groups 19 on-the band circumjacent the openings 8 and which groups denote therespective dialing stations in the same manner and in accordance with the letters contained in the indicia l2 but of :a materially greater-size to increase visibility. The indiciaofthe inner band or flange [6 is composed --of numerals 20 repreasentative of the numerals-contained in the indicia l'2 for denoting the respective dialing stations and are of a materially greater size, being limited solely'by' the size of the openings 8 in order to permit clear viewing therethrough.

As illustrated in the drawings and with particular reference to Figure 3 thereof, the body I is diametrically divided to provide separable sections 2! and 22, respectively, to enable the body to be readily assembled and arranged about the dialing device as heretofore described. In order to secure the sections together in fixed relation about the dialing device, the ends of the fiange ll of each of the sections 2| and 22 are formed with a depending slotted lip 23 on one side and downwardly ofiset and circumferentially extending tongue 24 on the other side, the lip and tongue of one section being confrontingly disposed with the tongue and lip of the other section to enable the tongues to be inserted through the slots in the lips and have their free ends bent downwardly to thus lock the sections together as illustrated in Figure 4 of the drawings. One end of the section 2| is provided with a slot 25 through which extends the upright portion of the finger-engaging stop 9, the latter snugly fitting the stop 9, when the sections 2| and 22 are secured together, to preclude rotation of the body relative to the dialing device. A pair of radially inwardly projecting rubber lips 26 are secured, by means of adhesive, to the inner margin of the exposed radial face of the flange l6 and engage the mounting 6 to preclude shifting of the attachment relative to the plate I I.

While various components of the attachment, as herein disclosed, are constructed of metal, it is to be distinctly understood that other suitable material may be utilized, for instance, plastic, and that indicia thereon may be of the luminous type, if desired, to render the same visible in the dark or under other adverse lighting conditions.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I have provided an attachment for a telephone dialing device wherein the numerals and letters contained thereon are of a materially greater size than those ordinarily used in selecting dialing stations and which, because of their greater size, greatly facilitate dialing by minimizing dialing errors occasioned by the poor ,visibility inherent in dialing indicia of prior art devices because of limited size and crowding.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully explain the invention that others may, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt the same for use under various conditions of service. Moreover, it is not indispensable that all the features of the invention be used conjointly since they may be employed advantageously in various combinations and subcombinations.

It is obvious that the invention is not confined to the herein described use therefore as it may be utilized for any purpose to which it is adaptable. It is therefore to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific constructions as illustrated and described, as the same is only illustrative of the principles involved which are capable of extended application in various forms, and the invention comprehends all construction within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An attachment for a telephone dialing device of the type having a mounting and a rotary dialing member thereon provided with an annular row of finger openings; comprisinga first inner annular band of a diameter substantially equal to that of the dialing member and having thereon an annular row of station denoting numerals spaced correspondingly with and visible through the finger openings of the dialing member, a second annular band of a diameter greater than that of the dialing member and arranged at a different level than the inner band and having thereon an annular row of station denoting letters spaced correspondingly with the spacing of the finger holes in the dialing member, and an annular member between and connecting the inner periphery of the second band with the outer periphery of the inner band, and engageable with said mounting to support said first band concentrically with and below the dialing member and to support said second band substantially in the plane of the dialing member and in surrounding relation therewith.

2. An attachment as defined in claim 1, wherein said bands and connecting member are composed of separate segments for assembly from opposite sides of said mounting, and including means for interconnecting said segments when assembled.

3. An attachment as defined in claim 1, wherein said bands and connecting member are divided into separate substantially semi-circular sections which are movable bodily toward one another in a common plane for assembly from opposite sides of said mounting and to bring their opposed ends into abutting engagement, and in'-' cluding means on the abutting ends of said sec- 7 tions for interconnecting them.

4. An attachment for a telephone dialing service of the type having a dial mounting, a rotary dialing member thereon formed with an annular row of finger openings and an annular stationary dial plate spaced below the dialing member and having thereon groups of station denoting characters visible respectively through the finger openings of the dialing member; said attach-' ment comprising a pair of separate segmental sections capable of assembly on said mounting by movement of said sections toward one another from opposite sides of the mounting, and means for interlocking the opposed ends of said sections in the assembly, the assembled sections compris ing an inner annular band of a width sufficient to overlie and mask the characters on the dial plate and having thereon an annular row of station denoting characters spaced correspondingly with and visible through the finger openings in the dialing member, a second and larger diameter annular band offset to a higher level relatively to said inner band to lie substantially in the plane of the dialing member and having thereon an annular row of station denoting characters aligned radially with the annular row of characters on said inner band, and an annular mem-' ber surrounding said mounting and rigidly interconnecting the inner periphery of said second hand and the outer periphery of said inner band.

RALPH SANDOR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the" file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PA'IEN'IS 

